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• China's short drama industry reached industrial scale by January 2026, producing 470 AI-generated titles daily and releasing 50,000 AI-native episodes on Douyin in March. • The boom relies on "reference imaging," where AI curators use composite prompts and social media photos of celebrities and bloggers to create character appearances. • This practice has led to documented harm, including a 72-episode period drama on the Hongguo platform that used the faces of fashion bloggers without their consent.

• The newly launched Cockroach Janta Party and its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, are facing allegations from BJP leaders claiming the party is an "ISI asset" with 50% of its followers based in Pakistan. • Following these accusations and the suspension of the original account, Dipke created a new X handle titled "Cockroach Is Back" to maintain his social media presence. • The new account has rapidly gained nearly 1.56 lakh followers, including prominent figures such as Mahua Moitra, Sagarika Ghose, Gul Panag, and Prashant Bhushan.

Plus, John Travolta’s beret, Rachel Reeves reclaims basic civility and Judy Garland comes to east London Much discussion in my household this week about the possibility of hantavirus or Ebola becoming Covid-like in their spread. As darkening news from central Africa throws the withdrawal of US international aid into terrible relief, so we revisit memories of those early months of 2020 when reports of a strange virus in China slowly crept from final item on the news list to blaring emergency. Continue reading...

• The Eurovision Song Contest is facing an "existential moment" regarding the participation of Israel, sparking significant tension among member broadcasters. • Spain's public broadcaster, RTVE, issued a public call for "peace and justice for Palestine" immediately before the final on Saturday night. • Belgium's Flemish broadcaster, VRT, announced it is unlikely to send an artist to next year's contest in Sofia unless the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reforms its decision-making process.

Critics of Royal Horticultural Society turn hose on corporate sponsorship, peat-free compost and general ‘wokery’There was King Charles and David Beckham as well as a nocturnal garden to support bats and a Viking-themed allotment full of edible plants in pots. The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea flower show, which ends on Saturday, was as lovely and celebrity-glittered as ever, most agreed.But dig a little deeper, say critics on the conservative wing of the RHS – including one spectacularly outspoken former contributor – and not everything is necessarily smelling of roses. Continue reading...

International student Rodiyat Alabede, 22, died due to a ‘perfect storm’ of lax safety protocols, advocates sayPatient advocates in Canada have called for a new investigation into the death of a young woman who was donating blood plasma, describing a “perfect storm” of lax safety protocols and poorly trained staff and warning of “systemic issues” at plasma donation sites across the country.Rodiyat Alabede, an international student at the University of Winnipeg, died of cardiac arrest shortly after a plasma donation in October 2025 at a facility operated by the Spanish healthcare company Grifols. An initial investigation by Health Canada found no links between the plasma donation and her death. Continue reading...

The former health secretary will give resignation speech after prime minister’s questions Good morning. PMQs is back, and there are at least two obvious issues for Kemi Badenoch to raise when she faces Keir Starmer.What Tories calls Starmer’s “Soviet-style” plan to curb supermarket pricesThis is more nuts than a squirrel convention!I warned Rachel Reeves prices would go up if she raised taxes and drowned employers in red tape. She didn’t listen and now she’s proposing Soviet style measures!After 18 months of “standing up to Putin” the Labour govt quietly issued a licence allowing imports of Russian oil refined in third countries.Yesterday Labour MPs voted AGAINST UK oil and gas licences.We are talking about our allies in Ukraine who have been fighting a war bravely against Russia for years and years with our support.They have looked to Britain as one of their most important allies, and they don’t understand, given that we promised that we would stop this loophole in October, and we still haven’t done it. In fact, it seems to have got worse. People feel very let down.There was a G7 announcement on the 19 May which said that they, the G7, had an unwavering commitment to put pressure on Russia including sanctions on the energy sector and actions against entities in third countries that materially support Russia’s war effort but we’re still saying that we’re going to take sanctioned oil but so long as it goes to Turkey first and then it’s refined, we will use it. Continue reading...

Millions of litres of sewage have been spilling into the capital city’s waters since February after the catastrophic failure of a Moa Point wastewater plantA fix to stop millions of litres of sewage continuing to pour into the waters off the coast of New Zealand’s capital, Wellington will be in place by November, officials have said, with full repairs at the cost of NZ$53.5m by late next year.More than 100 days since the catastrophic failure of the city’s wastewater treatment plant on 4 February, a mix of raw and partially screened human effluent is still being flushed directly into the Pacific Ocean. Continue reading...

Outcome of contest for seat just outside Wigan could change the course of British politics for years to come Andy Burnham will face Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon in next month’s crucial Makerfield byelection in a clash that could change the course of British politics for years to come.Reform are billing Kenyon, a plumber and army reservist who contested the seat just outside Wigan in the 2024 general election, as a local champion taking on a professional politician who is using the seat for his own advantage. Continue reading...

Ebony Parker is accused of ignoring warnings that the student brought a loaded gun to a US elementary schoolSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA former assistant principal at an elementary school in Virginia is due in court for trial on criminal charges of ignoring warnings that a six-year-old student brought a loaded gun to school which was later used to shoot his first-grade teacher.Ebony Parker’s criminal trial is set to start on Monday in Newport News. Continue reading...

Reform, which won more than 50% of the local election vote, is likely to focus heavily on immigration and BrexitAndy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have warned, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country.The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party won more than 50% of the vote at the local elections and polling suggests Burnham is only marginally ahead. Continue reading...

FBI director reportedly took a snorkel excursion at site containing remains of more than 1,000 navy sailors and marinesThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is facing new scrutiny following reports that he participated in a snorkeling excursion around the USS Arizona during a trip to Hawaii last summer.The outing was first reported this week by the Associated Press, which obtained government emails describing the excursion as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona – the site that holds the remains of more than 1,000 US navy sailors and marines who died at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Continue reading...

• South Korea midfielder Lee Kang-in is facing a decisive week at Paris Saint-Germain as the club weighs his future, according to reporting cited by Chosun Biz. • L’Équipe said on May 14 that “Gonzalo Hamús and Lee Kang-in are expected to experience a decisive week for their futures,” indicating movement on PSG squad planning. • The situation matters because Lee remains one of the most prominent Asian players in Europe and any transfer decision would draw major attention in South Korea.

New undercover video appears to show cruel treatment of salmon at Cooke hatchery amid push for ‘chickenification’ of fishThe Trump administration is keen to do to fish what has been done to chickens – mass-produce them on an industrial scale to accelerate the US’s output of seafood.But this “chickenification” of fish may come at a hefty cost to the environment and to the fish themselves, as a new undercover video at one of the country’s leading fish farms has highlighted. Continue reading...

Watchdog to examine whether Reform UK leader should have declared donation received before entering parliamentNigel Farage is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.The Reform UK leader received the money weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader has used the helicopter to attend rallies across the country, most recently on FridayNigel Farage is facing questions about why he did not declare his use of a donor’s helicopter to travel around Britain for rallies.The helicopter, which was used by Farage as recently as Friday after local elections across Britain, is the property of a company owned by Lorenzo Zaccheo, a businessman who gave Reform £25,000 last year. Continue reading...

PM on the brink with Yvette Cooper and Shabana Mahmood believed to be among those urging him to set out a timetable for departureStarmer on the brink as cabinet ministers urge him to quitGood morning. “Stories beat spreadsheets,” Keir Starmer declared in his speech yesterday. But yesterday was a day when the spreadsheets had the upper hand. Most news organisations were using them to keep a track of Labour MPs who were coming out and calling for Starmer’s resignation and, after his speech in the morning, the numbers started to escalate. Here is the LabourList one; by the end of last night they were on 77.The sort of names on the spreadsheets changed too. Initially it was mostly leftwingers calling for the PM to go, with the Andy Burnham supporters stressing the need for a timetable for an orderly transition (ie – a slow process, allowing Burnham to win a byelection before a leadership contest). But in the afternoon government loyalists, and some prominent Wes Streeting supporters, started speaking out. And by early evening parliamentary private secretaries (technically, people on the government “payroll”) were joining in too.The Guardian understands that two senior cabinet ministers – Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary – told the prime minister he should oversee an orderly transition of power after crushing election defeats risked ringing the death knell on his premiership.At least two others – believed to be John Healey and David Lammy – discussed with Starmer how they should take a “responsible, dignified, orderly” approach to what might follow. Several others – including Richard Hermer and Steve Reed – were defiant, urging him to fight on. Continue reading...

Health secretary’s soft-right credentials put him at a disadvantage even with reduced membership under StarmerUK politics live – latest updates“Country first, party second” is a mantra Keir Starmer and his cabinet have repeated since being in opposition, seeking to draw a dividing line between Labour and their Conservative predecessors’ inclination for self-destruction.But party members do matter in politics – and a key problem for Wes Streeting, one of those with ambitions to succeed Keir Starmer, is that many of Labour’s do not like him. Continue reading...

Deborah Conway describes anti-Zionism as a ‘genocidal impulse’ as inquiry hears how Jews are targeted with Nazi comparisonsJewish musicians have told a royal commission hearing that their views on Zionism made them the targets of vilification and boycotting.The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion heard from Deborah Conway and Joshua Moshe on Monday: both were members of a Whatsapp group for Jewish creatives and academics, the contents of which was leaked by the media and some of the members’ personal information made public. Continue reading...

• India takes on China in the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup quarterfinal on May 10, 2026, at 5 PM IST, with the winner qualifying for the U17 World Cup. • The match is telecast live on the AFC Asian Cup YouTube channel, highlighting India's young women's football talent against regional powerhouse China. • This clash matters as it determines Asia's representative for the global youth tournament, building on India's strong group stage performance including a victory over Lebanon.

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, did not apply during brief hearingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo Australian women charged with slavery offences that allegedly occurred while they lived under Islamic State rule in Syria have faced a Melbourne court.Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter, Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were arrested by officers from the Victorian joint counter-terrorism team at Melbourne airport on Thursday. Continue reading...

Chances of Starmer remaining in No 10 appear to be diminishing as about 40 Labour MPs call for him to quitUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer is facing a perilous 24 hours as allies of Wes Streeting said he was prepared to bid for the leadership if the prime minister’s premiership falls apart this week.Starmer was hoping to save his job with a speech that sets out his vision for turning the country around on Monday, after a disastrous set of local election results in which the party lost support to Reform UK and the Greens. Continue reading...

Experts warn of ‘soft target’ vulnerabilities and intelligence gaps as federal agencies prepare to secure 78 matches across 11 citiesFifa World Cup matches set to be held across the United States face heightened terrorism risks, with experts warning that vulnerabilities are being amplified by the US-Israel conflict with Iran and a depletion of counter-terrorism expertise within federal law enforcement.The biggest threat stems from homegrown violent extremists, often lone actors that may have become radicalized online by extreme political views or jihadists such as the Islamic State (Isis), said four counter-terror experts interviewed. Continue reading...

• Indian equities are expected to remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments this week, with markets tracking the ongoing US-Iran situation and fluctuating crude oil prices that could trigger sharp movements in large-cap stocks. • Foreign investors have withdrawn Rs 14,231 crore from Indian equities so far in May amid global macroeconomic uncertainties, signaling reduced confidence in the market amid external headwinds. • Key macroeconomic releases this week include India's April CPI inflation data and US inflation prints (CPI and PPI), which analysts warn could materially shape Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations and global risk sentiment.

• Cubs reliever Hunter Harvey suffered a stress reaction in his triceps, revealed by MRI, delaying his return from inflammation by at least another month. • Manager Craig Counsell shared the update yesterday, impacting the team's bullpen depth. • Harvey's injury complicates Chicago's pitching strategy amid the season.

US transportation secretary announces The Great American Road Trip amid transportation crises and rising fuel pricesSean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, hauled his family into a van for a wholesome, seven-month trek across the nation, which was filmed for an upcoming reality TV program, he told Fox News on Friday.The revelation drew immediate blowback as “tone-deaf”, from critics who pointed toward various crises that have recently hammered the country’s transportation sector. Continue reading...